Irish youngster Jason Smyth not only won the Formula Ford Festival last weekend, but he also hoisted himself to second in the Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings.
Smyth has had a super-successful season in Formula Ford 1600 in the UK as well as his native Kirkistown-based series. At Brands Hatch, he steered his Van Diemen RF00/JL12 to victories in his heat, semi-final and the final itself to jump up four positions into the runner-up spot in the Rankings on 17 wins.
With the Walter Hayes Trophy taking place at Silverstone this weekend, a successful weekend there would put Smyth on course to top the Rankings in any normal season. But 2025 has not been ‘any normal season’, and Mazda MX-5 dominator Ali Bray’s tally of 23 wins is almost certainly beyond reach.
The Rankings is based on the simple foundation of a totting-up of drivers’ race wins during the season across the UK and Ireland, with each counting equally. We did not issue an update last week, owing to the lack of movement within the top 50 over the 18-19 October weekend as the season draws towards a close.
This update therefore incorporates all the changes that have taken place over the past fortnight, with multiple Racing Hondas class winner Dan Thackeray the highest-placed mover from the intervening weekend.
Thackeray fell short of his customary wins double at Snetterton, but his single success in his Civic EP3 does elevate him four positions to 12th in the table.
A few places down, we have three drivers in successive positions who have made progress. Heading them is former Rankings topper Michael Cullen, who took two Strykers successes at Mondello Park and is up 24 places to 17th.
John Spiers, Nigel Greensall, Shelby Cobra
Photo by: Mick Walker
Like Smyth, Callum Grant had a hugely successful Formula Ford Festival. At the wheel of his older Van Diemen RF91, he claimed class wins in his semi-final and the final of the main Festival and added honours in the historic shootout. That lifts him 27 places to 18th in the table. His heat class win – and fine third overall – is not counted because none of the Festival heats had the minimum six starters in class to qualify for the Rankings.
By his own standards, John Spiers’s two victories at the Motor Racing Legends meeting at Silverstone was below par, but he is up 23 positions to 19th in the table. Those wins, accompanied by Nigel Greensall, came in his Ford Capri and Shelby Cobra, and such is the variety of the machinery at his disposal that Spiers has bust our Rankings table formatting!
For the record, Spiers’s other wins counting for the Rankings this year have come in a McLaren M1B, Formula 1 March 761, TVR Griffith, Lotus Cortina, Lister Knobbly and a Ford Mustang. Lucky man…
Two more drivers have entered the nether regions of the top 50, with Formula Vee star Matt Harbot’s Mallory Park double putting him at 37, and Metro Cup man-to-beat Jack Ashton in at 47 after adding another win at Oulton Park.
For more information about the range of insurance policies that Ryan offers, please head to ryanmi.com.
Ryan Motorsport Insurance Autosport National Rankings
| Position | Driver (Car) | Overall | Class | Total |
| 1 | Ali Bray (Mazda MS-5 Mk1) | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| 2 | Jason Smyth (Van Diemen RF00/JL12) | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| 3 | George Line (Dallara F308) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 4 | Aidan Hills (Mazda MX-5 Mk3) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 5 | Mark Smith (McLaren 720S GT3) | 15 | 0 | 15 |
| 6 | Simon Allaway (Lotus Espirit V8) | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| 7 | Jonathan Moore (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport) | 0 | 14 | 14 |
| 8 | Matthew Highcock (BMW 120i/BMW 116i) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 9 | Marcus Littlewood (Radical SR3 XXR) | 13 | 0 | 13 |
| 10 | Tyler Read (Legends Ford Coupe) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 11 | Paul Sibley (MG Midget) | 12 | 0 | 12 |
| 12 | Dan Thackeray (Honda Civic EP3) | 0 | 12 | 12 |
| 13 | Shane Stoney (Radical PR6/Radical SR3 XXR) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 14 | Steve Dickens (Mallock U2 Mk29) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 15 | Ross Wilkinson (Mini Cooper S) | 11 | 0 | 11 |
| 16 | Jack Robinson (Jaguar XK8) | 10 | 1 | 11 |
| 17 | Michael Cullen (Raw Stryker/Lotus Cortina/Austin Mini) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 18 | Callum Grant (Merlyn Mk5/7/Van Diemen RF91/Merlyn Mk20A) | 9 | 2 | 11 |
| 19 | John Spiers (Shelby Cobra 260/McLaren M1B/March 761/TBR Griffith/Lotus Cortina/Ford Capri/Lister Knobbly/Ford Mustang | 7 | 4 | 11 |
| 20 | Hugh Simpson (MG Midget | 0 | 11 | 11 |
| 21 | Ben Mason (Legends Sedan) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 22 | Ryan McLeish (Legends Coupe) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 23 | Matt Luff (Audi TT 2.0 TFSI) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 24 | Craig Ewing (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
| 25 | Jonathan Corker (Datsun 510) | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 26 | Oli Willmott (Mini Cooper S) | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| 27 | Niall Bradley (BMW M3 E46) | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| 28 | Connor Kay (Lotus Elan 26R/MG Midget/TVR Tuscan) | 6 | 4 | 10 |
| 29 | Ian Bower (BMW M3) | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| 30 | Aidan Mulready (Ford Fiesta Zetec) | 4 | 6 | 10 |
| 31 | Fraser Fenwich (Lamborghini Super Trofeo) | 1 | 9 | 10 |
| 32 | James Ibbotson (Hillman Imp Super) | 0 | 10 | 10 |
| 33 | Ben Short (Mazda MX-5 Mk1) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 34 | Matty Cobb (Volkswagen Beetle) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 35 | Rocco Coronel (Ginetta G40 Junior Evo) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 36 | Fred Green (Ginetta G40 Junior Evo) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 37 | Matt Harbot (AHS Dominator) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 38 | Matthew Armstrong (Caterham 7 420R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 39 | James Nicholas (Ginetta G56 GTA) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 40 | Adam Shepherd (Cupra Leon Competicion TCR/Honda Integra CS) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 41 | Simon Hill (Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk5) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 42 | Taylor O’Flanagan (Caterham 310R) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 43 | Gerry Hendry (Ford Fiesta ST) | 9 | 0 | 9 |
| 44 | Matthew Haughton (Jedi Mk7) | 8 | 1 | 9 |
| 45 | Adrian Russell (Condor S2) | 3 | 6 | 9 |
| 46 | Tyler England (Ford Fiesta Mk4) | 2 | 7 | 9 |
| 47 | Jack Ashton (Rover Metro 100) | 0 | 9 | 9 |
| 48 | Mark White (Honda Civic Type R) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 49 | Jack McAleer (Porsche 997) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 50= | Tom Bradshaw (Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 RS Clubsport/McLaren MP4/1) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| 50= | Tom Ingram (Hyundai i30 N Fastback/Jaguar E-type FHC) | 8 | 0 | 8 |
All car races in UK and Ireland are included except qualification/repechage, consolation and handicap races. No races in other countries. Class wins are only counted when there are at least six starters in the class, except: when the race is part of a multi-stage event where six or more have taken part in earlier heats that feed into a semi-final or final; when multiple championships are merged in the same race, the ‘overall’ winner from the slower championship can count a class win as long as that championship has at least 10 starters across all classes.
Only classes divided by car characteristics are included, not those divided by driver characteristics such as ability, professional status, age, experience (for example rookie or pro-am classes). Each race counts only once, so an overall winner’s class win is not added. Where there is a tie, overall wins take precedence. Where there is still a tie, average grid size for a driver’s wins determines the order.
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